Barriers and facilitators to establishing Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) services in remote and rural communities across Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

There is a paucity of data on how Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) services adapt to the challenges of rural practice, including geographical isolation and provider shortages. This qualitative study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the experiences of EPI programs in rural and remote communities in Canada.

Methods

An introductory email was sent to 117 EPI contacts, inviting them to first complete a survey and then participate in a semi-structured interview if their program contained a rural component. The interviews were conducted between June 2023-January 2024 via Zoom or phone by a member of our research team, while another member took detailed notes. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Twenty-five representatives from seventeen d

SUBMITTER: Khalid B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12799007 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature